Cigar manufacture



United States Patent [72] inventors Harry Allison Hooper Larchmont, NewYork; Warren Arthur Brackmann, Cooksville, Ontario, Canada; Frankl-lollenton, Richmond, Virginia [21] Appi. No. 790,278 [22] Filed Jan.10, 1969 ,[45] Patented Nov. 24, 1970 [73] Assignee American Machine &Foundry Company a corporation of New Jersey [54] CIGAR MANUFACTURE 8Claims, 7-Drawing Figs. [52] US. Cl. 7 131/149, 83/100. 83/176; 131/105.131/148 [51] lnt.Cl A24b 05/14; A24c 01/04 [50] Field ofSearch 131/1,15, 105, 124, 148, 149; 83/17, 20,21, 1,4, 100, 176(Me'ister) [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 353,971 1 2/1886 Rowden 131/125 0so llllllll ll/ll/l/u/ as 7a 76 74 Primary Examiner Samuel KorenAssistant Examiner-James H. Czerwonky AttorneysGeorge W. Price andMurray Schaffer ABSTRACT: An apparatus for processing whole tobaccoleaf, utilizing an open contoured matrix for forming shaped patches ofleaf suitable as wrapper and binder. A porous web travels patchesbetween the web layers for subsequent storing as a booked roll.

1 Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,542,038

Sheet 1 of 5 INVEN'IORS HARRY ALLISON HOOPER FRANK HOLLENTON BY WARRENA. BRACKMANN ATT NEY Sheet -3' of 5 FIG.4

INVEN'IORS HARRY ALLISON HOOPER FRANK HOLLENTON BY WARREN A. BRACKMANNPatented Nov. 24, 1970 Sheet Q of 5 INVEN'IORS HARRY ALUSON HOOPER-FRANK HOLLENTON BYWARREN A ammmu ATTO NEY mm mv Patented Nov. 24, 1970/lOa Sheet FIG.6

U. INVENTORS HARRY ALUSON HOOPER FRANK HOLLENTON BY WARREN A. BRPKKMANNATTO Y i the wrapper, both of which in many cigars are made remains toenablea wholebinder or wrapper shape to be cut shaped portions oftobacco leaf for'use as wrapper and/r binder in the manufactureofcigars. w

'Itis usual in cigar making machines to form a cigar shaped roll oftobacco filler which is wrapped in a first sheet, usually termed thebinder, and then in a second sheet, usu'allytermed from natural tobaccoleaf. t

It is well known that theciga r industry is such that a very largevariety of cigar'shapesf a nd sizes are necessary to meet sphericalend,e i

, In addition, custom demands that the wrapper, at least, be

For this reason it is not possible to provide the cigar machine operatorwith whole unstemmed leaves, for should such leaves be used andsuccessively repositioned over the die as each shape is blanked out, thecoarse mid rib could easily be avoided, but cigars would be produced,half of which would 'show the vein pattern different from the otherhalf. Also, some tobacco leaves are quite large which, if positioned onthe 1 rotating die turret, would occupy an inconveniently large appliedin ah'elicaifashion so that'the overlap of the wrapper sheet is seen onthe finished cigaras a helical ridge running around it. Thusto producethe good, smooth appearance,

which isnecessary, it 'will be" appreciated that a wrapper must have aparticular if not peculiar shape so that it may be wrapped smoothlyaround the cigar filler. The wrapper must be cut to a complex shape andpresented to the cigar shaped roll of filler'iin the correct attitude sothat it is supplied to the roll in a precise manner.

For this purpose the cigar making machine is provided with at lease twocutting dies mounted on a turret arranged to index about a verticalaxis. One such turret being provided for each of the binder and wrapperfunctions respectively. Each cutting die is surrounded by a perforatedsurface, the perforation being connected to a source of vacuum to hold aleaf taut across the die.

An operator sits in convenient proximity to the die turret, selects aportion or tobacco leaf, examines it for holes, coarse veins or otherimperfections and stretches it over the cutting die where it is held instretched, creaseless' formation by the i ,vacuum applied via-theperforations in 'the surface surrounding the die, care ibeing takentoinsure that thecontourto be cut by thedie will not include anyimperfections. Having placed the leafportionin position the operatorinitiates one cycle of the cigar making machine, usually by means ofafoot switch, which causes the turret to index to the next positionwhere the leaf'stretched over thedie, is cutout. The cut leaf is thentransferred from the die to be rolled about the shaped roll there hadbeen previously-spread and cut awrapper. This second die has theremainder of the leaf of the wrapper suctionally held on the perforatedsurface. This the operator removes and eitherdiscards,.orplaces over thedie again in a new position ifyasifrequently happens, sufficient leafarea y from the remainder. t I 7 From this it will be seen thatthespeedof production of the cigar maker is determined by thefspeed at whichtheoperator can successivelyplac'e th e'leaf portion over the dies. Toassist in this operation,,whole' tobacco leavesarepreprepared andarranged. in an orderly stackfrom which the operator may manually removethe topmostleaf portion for booked in a separate. pile for, as is wellknown, the subsidiary veins on'the leaf run, out from the mid ribdiagonally and have a different texture on the front as compared withthe back so that each half ofthe leaf is a mirror image of'the other asfar as veins are concerned. It is usual in the industry to feed' thediffering halves of leaves to different cigar making machines to' avoidmixing theproduction of. cigars showing the vein'pattern in a differentposition relative to the axis of the cigar.

space, interfering with the machines operation.

For these reasons it is the universal practice to remove the coarse midrib from each leaf, which operation is usually known as stemming",thereby separating the leaf into two parts and to book each half of theleaf separately.

Consequently, it will be appreciated that the preparation of tobaccoleaf for useas wrapper and/or binder and the subsequent application ofsuch leaf in the actual formation of the cigar is complex, consisting ofa number of mechanical and manual steps; time consuming, requiringseparate visual, manual and intellectual functions on the part of theoperator; and'wasteful oftobacco in that often good tobacco lamina isdiscarded with the stem, or tobacco is incorrectly booked" and leafismisapplied to the turret die.

It is the prime objective of this invention to eliminate thesedeficiencies of operation, speed up the production of cigars and providefor a more economical use oftobacco and labor.

As a specific object this invention is intended to provide for theproduction of reservoirs of wrappers and/or binders to enable cigarmaking machines as described above to be automatically fed. Anotherobject is to provide means for booking wrappers in the form of a roll,interleaved and supported by a web woundupon itself. 1

Another object is to provide means for cutting out cigar wrapperswhichis practical to operate without removing the coarse mid rib from eachleaf.

Another object is to stretch the leafin two dimensions and to hold it inthe stretched condition while cutting out wrappers.

r tAnotherobject is to store the wrappers in a stretched condition inthe roll'. v V Another object is to provide means whereby it is notneces sary for the operator to relinquish the hold on the tobacco leafwhile the wrapper is being cutout.

Another object is to provide booked wrapper in the form of a roll,interleaved and supported by-a web wound upon itself, said web beingadaptable as'a conveyor for transporting the wrappers to a cigar makingmachine.

Other objects and features of this invention will appear as thedescription of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustratethe invention progresses.

To facilitate the following description, the term patch will .be used tomean a shaped portion of tobacco leaf, or manufactured tobacco or othermaterial sheet. It will be understood to include both binder andwrapper, in the finished contour or slightly larger than finished size,from which the finished piece can be cut. It willbe appreciated that thepresent invention may find wide use with existing cigar making machinesand that consequently in converting existing machines for such useminimum alteration is desirable. Secondly it is proposed toautomatically feed to the cigar making machine, patches which areslightly larger than the final contour required, employing the alreadyexisting dies to produce the final wrapper or binder shape. However, itis obvious that in designing a completely new machine, the patch may becut to finished size before booking, eliminating dies on the cigar makeritself in which case the die turret would be replaced by a simplesuction transfer device. 1

In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification,likecharacters of reference have been applied to corresponding partsthroughout all drawings.

FIG. I shows a general external view of structure in accordance with theprinciples of this invention,

FIG. 2 illustrates the positioning of patches between the layers of aweb rolled upon itself.

FIG. 3 illustrates in side elevation somewhat diagrammatically themechanism for cutting out patches and forming the roll.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative method of winding the web on itself.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the electrical current.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is generally depicted the booked" roll ofparticularly sized and shaped cigar patches which it is an object ofthis invention to produce as well as the apparatus for obtaining thesame. Whole, generally unstemmed and veined tobacco leaf is preparedinto specific individual patches 2 without stem, and with orientedveins. The leaf is placed in stretched condition on the horizontal runofa porous web 10 which is drawn from a source of supply 12 and arewound between the layers of the web in a tight roll 14, as the support18 for roll is turned in the direction of arrow A. It will thus beappreciated that with the technique described herein, large volumes oftobacco leaves can, in one step and operation and by a single worker, bestemmed, processed and oriented and collected into manageable reservoirsor storage contain'ers for use later on in the automatic feed of a cigarmachine. In our copending applications Ser. No. 790,277 and Ser. No.790,302 filed simultaneously herewith, we show a method and apparatus'for automatically feeding cigar machines with reservoirs of patchesproduced according to this disclosure.

Since for purposes of this invention the web 10 should be preferablyporous, any woven or felted textile material glass fiber fabric,chemically produced fibers, perforated sheet of plastic material or eventhin perforated or woven metal will be suitable. A thin woven web ofnylon has been found to be most satisfactory, for it is strong relativeto its weight, will produce a small roll and is unaffected by thechemical constituents of the tobacco leaf portions themselves.

Turning to FIGS. 3 and 5 the web 10 is drawn from the roll 12 and ispassed over a forward roll 16 and fastened on to the core ofa takeuproll 18. The roll 18 is journaled at the end ofa pair of parallellocating arms 20 pivotally mounted by their rear ends on bearing'blocks22. Fastened to the roll, 18 is a sprocket 24, connected by meansofchain 26 to the shaft 28 of a motor 30, whereby the roll 18 may bepositively rotated in the directions of arrow A.

Beneath the horizontal run ofthe web 10 there is provided a hollow box32 pivotally mounted at its rear end 34 and perforated over the whole ofits top surface. The perforations 36 extend between the forward roll 16and below the takeup roll 18, and are in communication, through the box32 with a source of vacuum connected to a fitting 38. The vacuum acts tohold the web 10 in close slideable contact with the top surface of thehollow box 32 by reason of the difference in air pressure on the web 10induced by the application of vacuum through perforations 36.

As the roll 18 is worked with wrapper, it becomes larger as indicated bythe dotted lines but the point at which the web 10 joins the roll 18will always remain tangent to the top surface of the hollow box 32 byreason of the fact that the roll rests thereon under the influence ofgravity. The locating arms 20 are progressively raised by the rollitself as it grows, thus providing conditions under which the roll istightly wound without impairing the function of chain 26 whichcontinually swings in fixed length around the center ofdrive motor 30.

A work table 40 is rigidly mounted on the frame of the machine above thetop surface of the hollow box 32, its lower surface being a fraction ofan inch above the horizontal plane tangent with the highest point ofroller 16 and parallel to the surface of box 32. A spring 42 mountedbetween the lower surface of box 32 and the frame of the machine Fcauses the box 32 to normally swing around its mounting pivot 34, topress the web 10 into close contact with the underside of work table 40.A solenoid 44 is mounted onv the frame and has its operating plungerfastened to the lower surface of the box 32.

The solenoid 44 is adapted, when energized, to overcome the normalupward biasing of suction box 32 and will cause the box 32 to pivotdownwardly on command. Should the box 32 be under the influence ofsuction the web 10 will also be carried downward.

The work table 40 is of laminate construction as shown in FIG. 5 withthe parts relatively distorted for the sake of clarity. The compositework table comprises a perforated upper plate 46 below which and spacedfrom it is a secondary plate 48, sealed around the edges andcommunicating with one or more fittings 50 which in turn are alsoconnected to the source of vacuum. Below plate 48 and spaced from it ismounted a third plate 52, the space between plates 48 and 52 beingprovided to permit one run of a band knife 54 to move freely for thepurpose described below.

The third plate 52 completes the composite work, table, below which, asstated above, passes web 10 and against which the web 10 is pressed bythe topsurface ofthe box 32.

Through the three plates 46, 48 and 52 is cut a vertical hole generallyindicated at 56. The hole comprises a matrix which determines the sizeand shape of the tobacco wrapper to be produced. The hole hassubstantially vertical walls and a contour parallel to the plane of thetable that substantially conforms to the size and shape of the desiredpatch to be produced.

Referring to FIG. 5, it will be seen that when the porous web 10 ispressed upwardly against plate 52 by the perforated box 32 the bottom ofthe hole 56 is comprised of the porous web 10 through which air passesby reason of the perforations 36 and the applied vacuum. The top mostplate 46 is also provided with a series of peripherally spaced holes 58so that in addition, air flows from the hole 58 into the space betweenplates 46 and 48, by reason of the vacuum applied through fitting 50.

As a result of this construction, a properly conditioned, moist andpliable tobacco leaf 60, when drawn across the work table 40 will coverthe hole 56 and beheld flat against the table by the vacuum appliedthrough holes 58. The vacuum applied through perforations 36 and porousweb 10 will draw the leaf down to the bottom of the hole causing it toslide slightly across suction holes 58 if necessary, by an amountdependent upon the degree of vacuum applied at each point. It will beseen that this downward drawing will cause the drawn portion of the leafto be stretched or tensioned in all directions within the horizontalplane, according to the applied vacuum, effectively removing allcreases, pleats etc., and insuring that that portion of the leafadhering to porous web 10 is perfectly flat and smooth.

In addition it will be observed that the relative vacuum applied to theleaf through web 10, peripheral holes 58 and between the plates 46 and48 cause the leaf to assume a position in which it has substantiallyvertical peripheral walls running about its entire contour. Thus theleaf assumes a dishlike shape as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 5,except that it is in close contact with the various elements and notspaced from them (as shown, which is only for the sake of clarity).

At this stage and in this position the leaf 60 is prepared for cuttingby the band knife 54 which moves across the opening as more fullydescribed later to sever a patch suitable as a cigar wrapper from thedrawn leaf. The portion severed is of the desired contour, dependentupon the shape and size of the hole 56, but at this stage is still'heldin a dished shape in the hole 56. The dished patch is then withdrawnfrom the confining contour of the hole 56, when the suction box 32 islowered on energization of the solenoid 44. The patch 2 is promptlyflattened on the web 10 while retaining the stretched condition. Thus,the completed patch 2 is cut from a whole leaf and adhered to web 10.

It will be appreciated that as the suction is maintained on the patch 2throughout the whole of its movement from the point where it was cutout,up to the point where it is trapped between the two layers of web 10 onroll 14, it must remain in the stretched smooth condition for as long asit is stored in the roll.

The band knife 54,.employed to sever the wrapper shape is shafts whichare rotatably supported in stationary sleeves 66 which are v preventedfrom rotating by m'eans'of sliding keys 68, th'e whole being supportedin the frame of the machine, a portion of which is'shown at 70 Sleeves66 are furnished with rack teeth 72 which mesh withquadrants 74 keyed toshaft 76 which is also supported in themainfranie. At one end of shaft76 is keyed a single lever 78ivhich is pivotally connected to arm 80andthence to the piston-rod 82 of air cylinder 84. When air is admittedto the air cylinder, the piston iscaused to move from leftto rightiarrowB) as shown in-FIG. 3 and 'the two quadrants 74 can then be made to movein unison by reason of their connection shaft 76 I On pivotingofquadrants 74, the sleeves 66' mov'e in an axial direction carryingthe'band knife assembly withthem; causing the knife to pass through theleaf 60and'tosever the tobacco leaf drawn into space 56. On completionof its severing stroke, the piston 82,carrying arm 80, "causes a linkpin'86 secured The microswitch thus senses thefactthat the'leaf60 hasbeen severed. The microswitch 8,8 'c'ontrols an air valve feeding thecylinder 84 andconsequently permitsthetFlG. 5)"entire knife assembly toreturn to its initial position permitting the withdrawal of thepiston84. A spring 90 is provided to facilitate withdrawal. If desired;the return motion'rnay be obtained by suitably programming the aircylinder or utilizing a double action cylinder. Suitable sharpeningdevices of known construction, not shown, may beapplieci to the bandknife if desired as also may be suitable tensioning devices.

Turning to FIG '4, the band knife 54 is driven by means of with respectto the leaf or the opening 56. Other equivalent meansmay be employed. v

The mechanical operation of the device will be described in conjunctionwith FIG. 7',- which is a schematicrepresentation of its electicalcircuitry and the appurtenant mechanical ele ments. The device issupplied with sources of electrical power and of vacuum, both of whichare commonly found in cigar making factories. The band knife'motor 88isconnecte'd directly to the source, of power so *thatthe knife 54 isconstantly rotated. The vacuum box 32'and the work table'4 0 are alsoconnected-directly to "the source of vacuum through fittings 38 and.respectively so that the web lil'and patch forming mechanism is alwaysunder the influence of negative pressure.

A single operator sitsin front of the machine with a supply of wholeleaf resting on shelf 98. The operator "removes a.

whole leaf 60 and spreads it out ontable top 40, examining it 25 thereonto contact a microswitch 88 mounted on the frame; T

6 severing movement is automatically sensed by means of the link pin86(FIG. 4) breaking the contact of the microswitch 88 FIG. 3) at the endof working stroke of piston 82. The relay 98 reverses and is thus causedto break the circuit of its holding coil and to consequently cause thereturn of the pneumatic valve to its original open position, permittingcylinder 84 to exhaust to the atmosphere so that the spring 90 mayreturn the knife 54 to its original position. Alternatively the airvalve may be of such a type that air or vacuum is alternatively providedto the air cylinder 84 to move the pistonpositively in either direction,in which case the spring 90 would not be necessary.

Simultaneously,-on completion of the severing stroke, the reversal ofthe relay 98 starts an electrical timer relay T of knownconstruction.The timer relay energizes two further electrical circuits for very shortperiods of time, both of which may be adjusted according to theconstruction of the timer. First, the solenoid 44 isener gized to lowerthe 'top surface of vacuurnbox 32 away from the underside of the worktable 40 carryingwith it the porous web 10 and the just cut patch,Because of the continuously applied vacuum in box 32, the patch isheldin stretched formation on the surface of the web and the'dishededges flattened out as soon as they are clear of the contoured hole 56as previously indicated. Secondly, and simultaneously with theenergization of the solenoid 44, the motor 30 is energized which causesthe web 10 to be indexed and wound on to the roll 14. A series ofpatches 2 may be 7 present on the web 10 between the point ofcutting outand the final trapping between the layers of the web on roll 14, butthese are continuously and properly held in during transport by reasonof the continuous vacuum in box 32.

As'soon asthe last out patch is sufficiently transported away I from thehole 56 the timer relay deenergizes both the solenoid.

44 and the motor 30, permitting the spring 42 to return the suction box32 to its uppermost position. The indexing of the web. 10 and winding onto roll 14 is then automatically stopped. Now the machine is ready forrepeating the cycle of events described, but, before this, the operatorhas been examining the remainder of the leaf and is free, to start tomove it to the table 40 as soon as the band knife has completed itscutting stroke.

It will beseen that with this construction'the operator may hold theedges of the leaf at all times, even while the patch is being cut, so asto be able to move it to the next position ex peditiously. This is oneof the most important features of this invention, for when comparedwiththe operation of the stanmany patches as possible from the leaf areaonone side of the for imperfections, The'chosen area of'the leaf is:slidac'ross the table to coincide with the patch-shaped'contour hole 56where it is immediately drawn into the hole by reason of the con stantlyapplied vacuum and assumes the dish formation previously ,described. Theoperator then signals the machine to move through one cycle byany'suitable means such as by a foot switch. The foot switch is'connectedthrough the normally closed microswitch 88 to a relay 98. Relay-98 is asingle pole double terminal type which on activation is biased tooperate a pneumaticvalvewhich opens topermit air to be withdrawn fromthe air cylinder 84 to'the source of vacuum or negative air. Thebandknife 54 thus is caused to move axially through opening56, sever thecigar patch 2 from the 'drawn contour of the leaf 60 The completion ofthe band knife stem and, with a machine with a single opening asdescribed separate rolls. Such work stations would be laterally spacedin conformity of the requirements for two separate flow channels butwould still be within easy access of the operator. Under theseconditions the operator would feed all the leaf on one side of the stemto one station, moving to the adjacent station when feeding leaf fromthe remaining side of the stem using a i j different foot switch foreach channel. In this way the opposite hand of booked rolls can be keptseparate while handling the leaf once only and without stemming.

Alternatively, when dealing with good quality leaf it is practical toprovide two work stations in line of travel, making possible theproduction of two patches for each positioning of the leaf.

As described above, the web winding motor 30 runs for a length of timedictated by a timer. This time could be constant, in which case thelongitudinal pitch of the patches in the roll 14 will increase as thediameter of the roll increases. As the preferred feeding apparatusaccording to the above mentioned copending patent application Ser. No.790,277 locates the position of the patches from the wrappers themselvesthis is not of serious consequence but it does mean that the roll doesnot contain as many'patches as it would should they be substantiallyequally spaced. A number of ways exist to do this, for instance, thetimer adjustment could be varied in accordance with the diameter of roll14 as detected by a floating feeler resting on the roll or by the angleof the arms 20. The same signal could be used to vary the speed of themotor 30 leaving the timer constant or the roll could be wound up by theapplication of a frictional drive cooperating with its outside diameterto give a constant peripheral movement during each cycle etc.

As an alternative some economy in the feeding apparatus according to theaforementioned copending patent application can be obtained by providingthis type of booked roll in which at least one edge of the porous web 10is provided with a continuous series of equispaced sprocket holes inconjunction with the equal spacing of the wrappers in the roll. Thisarrangement makes possible the serial feeding of the patches to a singledelivery station by merely feeding the web a constant amount during eachcycle as determined by the sprocket holes. To provide such a rollapparatus as shown at FIG. 6 is employed. Generally the apparatusfunctions as described for FIG. 3 but the feeding of the porous web 10awhich in this case in provided with sprocket holes along its edges ischanged to function as follows:

The roller 16a around which the web passes on its way to being wound onto booked roll 14a is provided with two suitable sprockets 100 to matchthe series of sprocket holes along the edges of web 10a. A motor 102 isfurnished instead of motor 30 of FIG. 3 which motor 102 is energized torun con- .tinuously as long as the machine is in operation. It drives toroll support 180 by means of pulleys and the crossed belt 104 and theslipping clutch 106 which is devised to transmit a suitable torque forwinding the web into a roll 14a and yet will slip when the web is notavailable for winding. Motor 102 also drives by means of suitablesprockets and chain 108, a single revolution clutch 110 which iscontrolled by a solenoid 112,

' making exactly one revolution each time the solenoid is energized.Thus, the web 1041 is advanced by a distance determined by the number ofteeth of the sprocket 100 which distance is, of course, equal to thepitch of the wrappers as wound in the roll.

In this case the apparatus functions as follows:

The operator feeds the leaf to the cutting station 56 as described aboveand operates the foot switch when ready for the machine to cut out awrapper and move through one cycle. The air cylinder moves the bandknife through its cutting operation and on the return stroke the switchis operated as previously described, causing the starting of a timerrelay which in turn energizes solenoid 112 for a very short period oftime. The movement of solenoid 112 unlatches the single revolutionclutch 110 permitting the motor 102 to rotate the clutch exactly onerevolution before it again assumes the inoperative position. Thisrevolution causes the sprockets 100 to feed the web 10a forwardly by anamount corresponding to the number ofteeth on-sprockets, indexing thecutout wrapper forward with it and permitting the slip clutch 106 torotate the roll 14a by an equal amount after which the timer releasessolenoid 112 and the apparatus is ready for the next cycle.

lt will be observed that any errors which may exist in the position ofthe patches in relation to the sprocket holes in the web 10a arenoncumulative making possible the location of the patches on thedelivery mechanism solely by means of the sprocket holes.

The invention herein described is given by way of an example only andmany changes in the details of construction and the combination andarrangement of parts are possible without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. In particular, such a reservoir can be producedwith the patches entrapped between the web 10 and a secondary web 10'(as indicated in FlG. 2.) The webs l0 and 10' being used together. Thispermits the transport of the patches between the two webs only,dispensing with the requirements during the transport operation. As aconsequence the web need not be porous and need not be rolled but may befolded or otherwise formed into a unitary container.

While the present invention has been described in connection with thebooking of natural leaf wrapper it is equally adaptable to the bookingpatches from sheets or foils ofreconstituted artificial or treatedtobacco products.

It will then be seen that the present invention provides apparatus forthe automatic processing of leaf, production of shaped performed patchesof whole leaf, and storing them in stretched oriented condition inbooked rolls. Since various modifications, changes, etc., may be made,it is intended that the present description be illustrative only andthat the invention not be limited solely by the embodiments described.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for producing a reservoir of tobacco leaf patches suitablefor use as wrapper and/or binder in the automatic manufacture ofcigarscomprising an open matrix having a contour substantially approximatingthe shape of said patch,

an elongated porous web adapted to travel beneath said matrix, suctionmeans for creating a vacuum acting through said web and said matrix tocause a leaf placed thereover to have a portion thereof assume the shapeof said patch, cutting means for severing said shaped portion of leafand means for simultaneously transferring said shaped portion to saidweb, and means for winding said web to entrap said patch between thelayers thereof.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 including means for operating saidshaping, cutting, transferring and wrapping means in predeterminedcyclical sequence, to produce a plurality of patches wrapped in said webfrom successive portions ofleaf placed on said matrix.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said matrix comprises asubstantially flat table, having a hole therein with substantiallyperpendicular walls, said hole being provided with air channels at leastalong its periphery and suction means acting through said air channelsto cause said leaf to be extended and stretched within said hole.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 including a suction box having aporous upper surface mounted beneath said web,

said box being mounted so as to be movable away from said.

hole responsive to the severing of said shaped portion, said suctionmeans acting through said box on said web to cause it to simultaneouslyremove said patch from said hole as said web is wound.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said table comprises aplurality of layers spaced from each other, and said cutting meanscomprises a rotating band knife transversely indexed to transverse saidhole between two of said layers.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4 including a rotatable core, meansfor attaching the web to said core and means for rotating said core towind said web thereon responsive to the transfer of patches to said web,said core being pivotally mounted above the suction box to maintain itsperiphery tangent thereto whereby said web is maintained under action ofthe suction.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 including means for varying therotation of said core as a predetermined function of the amount of webwound thereon.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said hole has onedimension longer than its other coplanar dimensions, said hole beingarranged in said table with said longer dimension transverse to thedirection of travel of said web whereby patches may be deposited thereonin spaced side by side orientatron.

